How to do a SWOT Analysis (With Simple Explanation and Examples)

The SWOT analysis is one of the easiest and best-known decision-making tools. Leaders and managers employ this method frequently, but it can be used by anyone. Here is an explanation of what a SWOT analysis is, when to use one and how to write a good SWOT analysis. I have also included a worked example.

What is a SWOT Analysis?

SWOT is an acronym that stands for: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.

The SWOT analysis was developed by researchers at Stanford University, following a study in the 1960s. The study looked at various Fortune 500 companies and found that there was a difference between an organisation’s set strategic priorities and what was actually done. The study also revealed that the problem was not poor employees, but rather a lack of clear objectives. Therefore, SWOT was developed to give staff a clear understanding of a business or project.

Why is SWOT analysis effective?

The SWOT analysis is one of the most important and popular tools for decision making and strategy development. This is because of its:

  • Simplicity – it is simple to learn and quick to use
  • Clarity – it focusses on the key issues and aids clear communication
  • Flexibility – it is applicable to individuals and organisations.

Having a coherent strategy is vital to any organisation, and equally, self-awareness is critical to personal effectiveness. But you need to be able to understand and communicate these things clearly. This is why SWOT analysis is such an important tool.

When should you use SWOT analysis?

The SWOT analysis is best used to:

  • Improve situational awareness
  • Develop strategy
  • Identify and refine actions and goals
  • Improve self-awareness (for an individual or team)
  • Reflect upon a completed project or activity

The SWOT analysis was designed for organisations but it can equally be used by individuals. The SWOT process identifies crucial internal and external influences within a given situation. Therefore it gives us a snapshot of where we are and is excellent for situational analysis.

SWOT Template

The most common way to present and consider the SWOT approach is as a matrix. Here is an example template:

How do you do a SWOT analysis?

Do you want to know how to do a SWOT analysis? Don’t worry; it’s easy! Just follow these steps.

Step 1: Create a SWOT table:

The SWOT matrix is set out thus:

  • Strengths and weaknesses are usually listed in the first row of the matrix; S and then W. These relate to internal factors.
  • Opportunities and threats are external issues or circumstances. These create the second row; O and then T.
  • In this layout, the first column, strengths and opportunities, signify the positive or helpful factors
  • The second column, weaknesses and threats, are the potentially negative or harmful issues


SWOT Analysis Template Layout

Step 2: Brainstorm

Next, brainstorm as many different considerations as you can under each heading.

Here are some questions to help you:

Strengths (internal/personal):
  • What are your/your team/organisation’s key skills, areas of experience or expertise?
  • Can you define your USP (unique selling point/proposition)?
  • What are your core values? What do you love, enjoy or prioritise?
Weaknesses (internal/personal):
  • What do you not enjoy doing?
  • Where have you failed or fallen behind the competition?
  • What skill gaps do you have?
 Threats (external/circumstantial):
  • What circumstances are most troubling you?
  • Who is your major competition?
  • Which challenge is the most important right now?
  • What is the worst thing that could happen to you/your organisation?
Opportunities (external/circumstantial):
  • How can you leverage your present situation?
  • Who/what could most help you right now?
  • How is change providing new openings?

Step 3: Prioritise

Now prioritise the lists; work out which are the top three to five things in each quadrant.

Whether you are using it as an individual or as part of a team, keep it simple and high-level; that is the systems greatest strength.

Step 4: Analyse

Look at each item in turn and consider the actions you could take. Here are some questions to help:

  • How can you play to or maximise your strengths?
  • What personal development goals, people and processes can help address your weaknesses?
  • How can you exploit, expand or multiply the opportunities?
  • What control measures do you need to put in place to limit the threats?

Now look for further relationships that you can identify across the columns, rows and diagonals.

Remember that weaknesses are often a reflection of strengths. For example, if you have a strength in that you are very good at coming up with lots of ideas, or you are a business with lots of products, a weakness might be that you find it hard to focus on just one of them.

Similarly, look at the flip side of external factors; you may find that threats can also provide opportunities. For example, a competitor could actually be a potential partner.

A failed project is always an opportunity for learning. From your analysis, how could you use that learning and pivot the idea, or re-purpose the team?

How to do a SWOT analysis

SWOT Analysis Example

Here is a short example using personal strengths and weaknesses:

SWOT Analysis Example

First looking at the strengths I recognise that I am quite task-focused. This means I am a good planner and show determination when seeing a project through. Moving across to the right quadrant I have noted a related weakness. Because I am task-focused that means I am quite future-orientated. The downside of this is that sometimes I can forget to be content in the moment or to celebrate the success of achieving something before moving on to the next goal.

Then looking at threats I have noted down that there is increased competition in my industry, with more people entering the market all the time. This threat does lead to an opportunity in the bottom left quadrant. I have the chance to refine my USP (unique selling proposition) in order to stand out from the crowd.

Example analysis

It is more likely that I would list more items under each heading before continuing, but for the sake of simplicity let’s do a little analysis on what we already have.

How do I maximise my strengths and minimise the impact of my weaknesses? There are a few options I could consider under the ‘3 Ps’:

  • Personal development: I could attend some training to improve my mindfulness and being ‘present’
  • Person: find or employ someone else with a complementary skill set whose strengths/weaknesses are the opposite of my own
  • Process: put some time in the diary to be more reflective on a daily basis and plan ahead to celebrate after achieving a goal

When considering the threats, I cannot control new people entering the market but I can work out how to best serve, and therefore retain, my existing clients. The opportunity of refining my USP becomes a strategic task, something that is going to require more work delving into why I do what I do, how that makes me different, who I can best serve and what extra benefit I can bring. The other items that I list in the strengths quadrant will help to develop that USP.

Making a plan from your SWOT Analysis

The ‘Right Questions’ format is an excellent way to examine this issue and so if this is something you want to pursue further then I recommend that you read my post on What are the Right Questions for Decision Making and Strategic Planning?

If you would like to explore more decision making tools then I recommend ‘The Decision Book’:

If you want the right answers you have to start with the right questions

About The Right Questions

The Right Questions is for people who want greater clarity, purpose and success. There is a wealth of resources to boost your effectiveness in achieving goals, your leadership of yourself and others, and your decision-making.

Wherever you are on your journey, I hope that you find information on this site to help you on the next leg of your quest. Even if that is just the inspiration to take one small step in the right direction, then that is a success. If you can take pleasure in learning and travelling as you go, then so much the better.

Need help navigating your journey to success?

I love to serve people, helping them unlock their potential, empowering them as leaders, and assisting them in achieving their goals. Please get in touch and let me know how I can support you!

How to Set Goals, Tasks and Milestones When Planning

Creating a plan to achieve success is all about breaking down our overall vision and mission into smaller, measurable goals. From there we can deconstruct the goals to the point where we have a simple activity, a next step, that is achievable and easily actionable.

In this post we will look at the importance of having a plan, and remaining flexible, then drill down into how to break down the various goals right down to the next actionable step.

Have a plan but remain flexible

Whether you are leading others or just yourself, you are much more likely to succeed – in whatever you want to do – if you have done some planning. If you can produce some sort of written plan, so much the better; especially if you need to communicate your ideas with other people.

Going through the process of breaking down a mission statement into goals and steps is a large part of the planning process. When these tasks are connected to the people, resources and time needed to achieve each one then we have a plan.

When planning there has to be a balance between getting the detail we need to take action, while maintaining flexibility to adapt to the situation and unforeseen circumstances. To do this we concentrate on developing more detail for the activities that are closer in terms of time than those that are further off. The more distant the task, the broader and more flexible the approach can be. Circumstances will inevitably force you to amend your plan; hence the process of planning is more important than the plan.

“Plans are worthless but planning is everything.”

Dwight Eisenhower

Turning mission statements into action

To take a mission statement and turn it into something actionable we need to break down the overall mission into constituent parts. We then end up with a hierarchy of larger down to smaller activities. These various elements can be called different things but I tend to use these planning terms:

How to Set Goals, Tasks and Milestones Video – YouTube

Example of breaking down a mission statement into objectives

Here is another example to explore this concept further:

After a long period of busyness, I feel the need for a break. I want to relax, recharge and enjoy some time away from the hustle and bustle of life. I love travelling and exploring the outdoors, as well as relaxing and generally having fun. These are my drivers, my ‘why’ (principles, passions and priorities) for something I want to do.

I have a dream of lying on a pristine beach, listening to the waves rolling in, basking in the warm sun and sipping an ice-cold cocktail. This is the vision, the idea of a better future that I want to create. This relates to the where stage in The Right Questions approach.

The mission (the what) is the more tangible expression of what success looks like. In this case that could be ‘to go on vacation for two weeks to enjoy some sun and surf’. That mission statement becomes the tangible headline to our plan;

There are various options I could look at by which I could achieve this mission. I might consider going to the Florida Keys, to Spain or the Maldives; but in this case, I am thinking I want to go to the South of France. This choice of options becomes my primary goal or objective under the mission statement.

The planning now involves breaking this chosen goal down into all the constituent tasks such as booking the holiday, the budget and planning the travel.

Planning to achieve goals

Travel is a major factor in the success of the holiday. The journey then becomes a goal in itself — one objective that needs to be successful for us to achieve our dream – and therefore it requires further planning. It is effectively a mini-plan within the greater plan.

Say I choose to drive.  It is a long drive from London to Marseille and so it makes sense to break down the route into stages. With the aid of a map, we could very quickly come up with a plan showing each road as a task and the major cities along the way – London, Paris, Lyons and Marseilles – as the milestones.

Crossing from England to France using the Channel Tunnel could be considered one task but it too can be broken down into several steps such as: purchasing a ticket, passing through passport control and customs, boarding the train, making the crossing and then disembarking.  These are all sub-sets of the activity. Some of these activities may require further thought and planning, and so on.

I work out that the most important thing I need to do next is to book a ticket for the crossing on my preferred date. This becomes my next step; the tangible, achievable next action that takes me a step closer to my mission and vision.

So we see here how in our planning we connect the overall vision and mission through to the small steps we need to make.

Stretch goals

The previous example was a simple one but when we are looking at larger dreams we have in life, and medium to long-term objectives, it is important that we set ourselves goals that are really going to stretch us.  These goals should take us outside of our comfort zones and force us to learn, to grow and to depend upon others.  In other words, there should be a reasonable chance of us failing.

Fear of failure is one of, if not the major factor in not achieving our dreams.  But we should never make a decision out of fear; if we bind ourselves by only contemplating the things we know we can achieve we will stop ourselves from ever doing something really outstanding.  The goals that seem unreachable are the ones that are the most rewarding and life-changing.

Challenging goals also inspire others and one story that has inspired me is the story of Jim Lawless. He set the goal (actually the result of a bet) that he would compete as a professional jockey. Given that he was thirty years old and overweight, had only a year to achieve the task and yet had never ridden a horse before, made that a real stretch goal! You can read the whole story, how he achieved his goal along with the lessons he learned, in his excellent book Taming Tigers.

A stretch goal is the sort of goal that borders on unrealistic. It is generally something that will require some time to achieve, possibly years, and has a large element of risk involved.  It is the sort of thing that you could fail in, but by succeeding you could achieve a significant step-change.

Audacious Goals

Jim Collins, in his book Good to Great, describes a stretch goal as a ‘Big Hairy Audacious Goal’ or ‘BHAG’ (pronounced bee-hag).  He postulates that people and companies that set themselves BHAGs are the ones that have the potential to become great.

If you aim high you may miss the mark but even so, you will most likely strike higher than you would otherwise have done.  The fact is that if you aim low you then you will hit low.

“A goal is not always meant to be reached; it often serves simply as something to aim at.”

Bruce Lee

One stretch goal or ‘BHAG’ I set myself was to run The Dragon’s Back Challenge, reputedly the hardest mountain race in the world. To complete the race you need to cover over 300km of mountain terrain in 5 days. Not surprisingly there is a high failure rate. Fewer than 50% of those that start the race actually complete it. Signing up for the race was exciting and daunting in equal measure! Once committed it was important that I created a plan for my training and for the race itself.

Questions for goal setting

If you are trying to think of your next stretch goal, here are some good questions you can use to generate ideas. I often use these questions while coaching and can be used with tools such as the GROW model:

  • What should I do? What do you feel obliged to do or responsible for doing?
  • How should I logically proceed? What goals are a logical progression for you if you continue in the same direction or on the same course?
  • Which goals keep coming up again and again? What are your deja vu goals – the things you want to achieve but have never got around to?
  • What would someone else tell you to do? Think about it from somebody else’s perspective. What would your family/friends/colleagues expect or hope for you to do?
  • Describe your deep wants. What are the desires and heartfelt passions for things you want to achieve?
  • If you could have anything, what would you wish for? If someone could wave and make anything happen, what would that be?
  • What are your happy wants? Which ideas, pictures or dreams give you the greatest feeling of contentment?
  • What are your secret goals? Are there private, secret, ‘naughty’ dreams that you have? The ones you might feel are stupid to share or too personal to tell people?
  • When might you have done things differently? Do you sometimes think, if only I could go back, rewind time and choose another path? What would that be?
  • Which goals excite you? What makes you think ‘wow!’ Which ideas and dreams give you real energy?

Tasks and Milestones

Once we have a goal we can consider what tasks and milestones will help us achieve our aim.

What is the difference between a task and a milestone? A task is best defined as a piece of work, an activity, that has a certain duration. A milestone is an event, a point in time, that indicates important stages of progression.

Examples of tasks and milestone

Let’s look at another example and consider the relatively simple task. I recently had to get a new garden shed so let’s use that. Building a shed is a  relatively straightforward construction process but it is still sensible to break the project down into tasks and milestones.

Here are some examples of activities and events, see if you can decide which are tasks and which are milestones:

  • Work out what type and size of shed you need
  • Select the best shed to suit your purpose
  • Purchase the shed
  • Shed is delivered
  • Prepare the ground
  • Erect the walls
  • Construct the roof
  • Fit the door and windows
  • Furnish the shed ready for use
  • Start using the shed

In this example the majority of the items listed are tasks, but the shed being delivered and starting to use the shed could be considered as milestones. Note the difference here is that a task is something that requires a duration of time to achieve, whereas a milestone is a moment in time; a threshold or gauge of significant progress.

To explain this in another simple way, let’s use the running analogy again. For each day of the race, I had to cover 60-70km on average. Each day was broken into four stages. The task was to run the next 15-20km stage in the shortest duration possible. Any rest stations or checkpoints after each stage on the route would equate to milestones.

So, in summary, you complete the task (the activity) and then pass the milestone (the progress marker).

The next step

The final constituent part of our planning is the ‘step’.  This is the smallest and yet probably the most crucial part.  Defining the first or next step is important because many jobs and goals are never initiated, as it is too daunting to start, or they stall because the next step is not defined.

“When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don’t adjust the goals, adjust the action steps.”

Confucius

There is something of a psychological barrier when getting going.  A clean sheet can lead to a mental block.  To overcome this an artist may give a blank canvas a simple wash of colour that will be painted over, and a writer may type a few lines on an empty page that may later be deleted.  For us, we need to make a small step in the right direction to get over the inertia when starting up.

Going back to the running analogy, when I have completed ultra-marathons I have had to set myself literal steps as I have become tired. I might tell myself, ‘just run to that next tree’ or ‘run for 50 steps, then you can walk for 50 steps.’ When you still have 50 km of a 100km race to go it can seem really daunting. Just focussing on the next few steps or next few minutes of activity can reduce the chances of becoming overwhelmed and stop you from giving up.

One useful strategy when starting a project is to break down the first task into an easy step that can be completed in about 30 minutes.  If it can be done in 5 minutes even better!  If we cannot do it right now then we plan to do that one step at the beginning of the next day and make sure we set another step for the following day.  As things gain momentum you will find that it is easier to get into the work and complete your tasks, even if they require more time.  The key is often just getting going.

So, to get to that point, remember STEP:

  • Start with the overall success or mission statement
  • Target success by identifying the key goals that need to be achieved
  • Evaluate these goals, breaking them into tasks and activities
  • Plan the next step, making it small enough to be achievable

Planning exercise

Now its your turn.

Think of something you need to do. Pick something relatively simple but with enough complexity to test the process. That could be planning a holiday or business trip, purchasing a new phone or computer; have a think a use a real goal that you need to achieve.

Work out your mission statement and then follow the process, breaking things down until you have the next steps you need to achieve. These are the ones that need to go in your diary or be done right now!

Congratulations, you are a step closer to achieving your mission!

If you would like more help with planning, including a free template for your plan, you can look at the post, ‘How to make an action plan to achieve your goal.’

And, if you would like access to some bonus content and get updates then please do sign up to my email list.

If you want the right answers you have to start with the right questions

About The Right Questions

The Right Questions is for people who want greater clarity, purpose and success. There is a wealth of resources to boost your effectiveness in achieving goals, your leadership of yourself and others, and your decision-making.

Wherever you are on your journey, I hope that you find information on this site to help you on the next leg of your quest. Even if that is just the inspiration to take one small step in the right direction, then that is a success. If you can take pleasure in learning and travelling as you go, then so much the better.

Need help navigating your journey to success?

I love to serve people, helping them unlock their potential, empowering them as leaders, and assisting them in achieving their goals. Please get in touch and let me know how I can support you!

How to Achieve a Plan by Planning Resources

Quite often we limit ourselves and our plan to our present resources.  After all, it is reasonable to ask ‘Which holiday can I afford?’ before going and booking one.  Budgeting is good stewardship and I would certainly not recommend getting into debt on a whim.

But we will never be able to dream big or make macro leaps forward if we limit our goals to what we can achieve with the resources we have now.  It is better to first ask what we are passionate about doing, working out the resources required, and then thinking creatively of ways to get what we need.  That is why this question comes some way down the planning process.

The importance of logistics

An army needs logistics. A large portion of every military is concerned with delivering the right resources to the right people in the right places.  In fact, there are many more logisticians than infantry soldiers in the average army.  But the army does not exist for logistics. It has a mission to achieve. That aim is very rarely just to do with just moving men and equipment from one place to another.  Logistics is a large and essential part of achieving your aim. But it is there to support the mission, not to drive it.  History testifies to the fact that an army will beg, borrow and steal if necessary to get the job done if (or rather when) logistics fail.  You can still achieve your aim when resources are difficult to come by if you remain focussed; as the United States Marine Corps would say: you just need to ‘improvise, adapt and overcome!’

The right motivation is key

This is because there are very few times when finances and resources are fixed.  A compelling vision inspires us to innovate and save. It motivates us to earn and raise the funding that we need and find the tools to get the job done.

Why is it that many people who win the lottery often struggle. Why do they end up having spent their money within a few years?  The gambling industry sells winning as the dream; it does not provide a vision for what comes beyond that.  Many people who win do not have a clear idea of what they want to do with the money. They might take a nice holiday and pay off the mortgage but that is not a grand vision. Anyway, these things can be done without playing the lottery or the roulette wheel.

People who make (and keep) large amounts of money use it productively. Resources that continue to grow are usually driven by a vision beyond that of just making cash.  Bill Gates, the richest man in the world for most of the last decade, was not motivated primarily by money.  When he started Microsoft with Paul Allen they had a vision of a computer in every home. This dream, of how computing could transform the world, drove Microsoft. It became the most successful software business in the world and made Bill Gates a multi-billionaire.

Money, Manpower and Materiel

So we start with the dream and then work out what we need to make it a reality.  When we need to make something happen it generally comes down to the three ‘M’s:

  • Money
  • Manning
  • Materiel

Cash, workers and equipment are all important but it is usually the first element, the money, which drives others; so this is the primary consideration here (we will look at the people issue more under the ‘Who’ question).

Estimating the cost

When we have our dream or our goal, we can start to put a cost against it.  If it is hard to assess the cost for a whole goal we can break it down, as we have done previously, and cost each constituent task or step.

Remember to put a cost against the time you invest in achieving the goal.  When doing something yourself you can feel you are getting it done for free but that is not actually true.  Our time is worth something, even if it is just the opportunity-cost of not being able to do something else while we are engaged with a task we have decided upon.

Often it will turn out cheaper to pay someone else to do a task that can be delegated as this leaves you just the things that no-one else can do and you will achieve your goal all the sooner.  We will look at delegation some more under the ‘Who’, but having broken down tasks and now putting costs to them will help you make decisions on the team you might need.

Alternative funding

Once you have estimated a cost for each individual task you will get an idea of the budget for the whole project.  Once this has been done you can start to think creatively about how to reduce the costs. Or you can seek further resources in more inventive ways (and no I am not talking about stealing here!).

For example, instead of paying for a qualified professional, could you get someone to do the work voluntarily? Perhaps you could offer them experience as an intern? If someone is still in training or education they may value the experience more than pay.  Alternatively, think about what service or product you might be able to offer someone in return. Bartering is as old as trade itself but sometimes people forget it. I have used this sort of transaction in building my business. For example I have coached people in return for help with my website.

I used this method when I employed someone to develop my website. They worked on the website in return provided some coaching to help them further their career. It was an easy win for both of us, and no cash changed hands.

Fuel the dream

Considering the resources we need and how we are going to get them is an important aspect of how we make our dreams real.  An idea becomes a lot more tangible as we think about and assess the tools and materials we need for the job. It can take some time, and may not be as liberating as some of the big picture thinking, but it is important so stick with it!

“First, have a definite, clear practical ideal; a goal, an objective. Second, have the necessary means to achieve your ends; wisdom, money, materials, and methods. Third, adjust all your means to that end.” Aristotle

If you want the right answers you have to start with the right questions

About The Right Questions

The Right Questions is for people who want greater clarity, purpose and success. There is a wealth of resources to boost your effectiveness in achieving goals, your leadership of yourself and others, and your decision-making.

Wherever you are on your journey, I hope that you find information on this site to help you on the next leg of your quest. Even if that is just the inspiration to take one small step in the right direction, then that is a success. If you can take pleasure in learning and travelling as you go, then so much the better.

Need help navigating your journey to success?

I love to serve people, helping them unlock their potential, empowering them as leaders, and assisting them in achieving their goals. Please get in touch and let me know how I can support you!

How to Programme Tasks and Create a Gantt Chart

Project planning is all out working out your plan in time and space. In The Right Questions Framework, the ‘When’ question relates to the ‘How’ of tasks and resources. As well as mapping these against time the ‘when’ also revisits the concept of priorities, first looked at under ‘why’. Putting this all together brings us to the concept of programming. There are various ways to graphically show a time-based plan but the Gantt Chart is probably the best known and most frequently used.

Programming

I was part of the initial project management team working on the construction of ‘The Shard’, the new tower above London Bridge station, which is the tallest building in Western Europe.  It goes without saying that it is massive and complex; too big to contemplate in all its detail.  What’s more, it is unique, there is not another building quite like it anywhere in the world.  Considering this, how could someone possibly decide how long it was going to take to build?  The key, as we looked at it under the ‘How’ question, was to break the whole plan down into manageable pieces. It is hard to estimate how long it will take to build a 330m tower, but you can start by working out how long it will take to construct one pillar or fit one window.

We can do the same for our goals.  We are already mostly there as under ‘How’ we broke down our dreams into goals and our goals into tasks.  It should be easier to assess the time for one task and if we need even greater accuracy we can break the task down into steps and work out the duration for those.

By doing this we are building up a programme (a plan with timings) to achieve our vision.  We have identified goals, worked out the necessary tasks and resources and now given time to each step.  Through this process, the dream starts to become more tangible.  Once again, don’t worry if you can’t work out everything – the important thing is to know the next few steps in enough detail to start to act.

Critical path analysis and keeping things simple

If you work out all of the activities that you need to achieve and the duration of each task then you will have a fully functioning programme; the sort of thing a project manager will create.  When you put all your activities into sequence the quickest route through the plan becomes the ‘critical path’ and gives you the shortest duration to achieve your aim.

Remember: a programme can include as little or as much detail as you need.  The important thing is that the programme helps you to plan and helps you track your progress towards a goal.  My advice is to start simple and if you can’t fit it legibly on one A4 page, or it starts being hard to understand, simplify it.

Gantt Chart Example

Earlier when we looked at tasks and milestones we looked at the example of building a shed. Let’s use the same example to make a simple programme. We can start by estimating the duration for each activity:

  • Work out what type and size of shed you need and where it will go. We will need to go out and do some measuring so let’s assume 1 hour.
  • Select the best shed to suit your purpose. This might require some time researching on the internet so let’s give ourselves 2 hours.
  • Purchase the shed. I am planning to do this online, so once I have decided on the right shed, it should only take me only a few minutes.  It is a good idea to always give ourselves 30 minutes, even for a simple task, so I am going to assign a half-hour here.
  • The shed is delivered. This is a milestone so I will not give it a duration. But, there is likely to be a time lag between purchasing and delivery and I will assume it will be 48 hours between payment and receiving the goods.
  • Prepare the ground. I will need to level the ground and my garden is on a slope so this is likely to take some time. I will initially give myself 4 hours. This could take longer, especially if foundations are required. So I might have to re-calculate this after inspecting the ground and the shed I have chosen.
  • Erect the walls. I am going to allow myself 2 hours for this task. This job will probably require the help of another person. I will have to ask someone to help soon to prevent my project from being delayed.
  • Construct the roof and make it waterproof. Again I will estimate around 2 hours for this.
  • Fit the door and windows. This could be a fiddly job so once again I am going to give myself 2 hours here
  • Furnish the shed ready for use. This will likely require popping to the shops again so I am going to give myself 3 hours for this.
  • Start using the shed. This is a milestone so I won’t give it a duration.

Now we can create a pictorial representation of the programme. This is known as a Gantt Chart (named after Henry Gantt, the man who developed the idea). Putting all the activities into the correct order, I have created a Gantt Chart. You can see the first version in Figure 1:

You will notice that as I start to fit the tasks into normal working hours, some activities roll forward. Now they take place over several days. I can now see that I won’t be able to start using the shed until the 5th day.

Prioritising

“Time is free, but it’s priceless. You can’t own it, but you can use it. You can’t keep it, but you can spend it. Once you’ve lost it you can never get it back.” Harvey MacKay

Time is limited so therefore within the plan we need to prioritise.  There is never enough time to do everything. Therefore, we need to be able to decide which things to forgo.  Our values point us towards our priorities and that helps us make the right decisions, especially when under pressure.

We have to know the tasks that are vital to success but this is not always straightforward to ascertain.  Therefore, we may need to go through a process of elimination until we can perceive the essential elements.

Which things can be done concurrently?  Which tasks could you delay or rearrange? What could you delegate or even dispense with altogether?  By asking these sorts of questions you get down to the bare bones of what are the vital actions.  You may well find that you can refine your programme after asking these questions.

For example, looking at our shed project again I can see that I don’t need to wait for the shed to arrive in order to prepare the ground. I can save myself some time by starting this task while I am waiting for the shed to be delivered as you can see in Figure 2:

You can see that by getting on with the groundwork concurrently I have reduced the total duration of the project by a day. Therefore, I will now be able to start using the shed on day 4.

Cash Flow and Budgeting

After adding the duration to the tasks the next thing to do is to add the resources needed for each activity.  This is the next layer of the programme and can be added to your table or spreadsheet.

In this way, we can establish not just the cost of any task but also the yearly, monthly, weekly or daily cost of a goal or activity.  In other words, we create a cash flow forecast or budget.

After doing all this you should be able to link the dream you have right through to the very next step you need to take.  Hopefully, you will also know exactly how long it will take and how much it will cost.  You can now put that step in your diary and you are on your way!

Project Management Programming Software

The Gantt Charts for this post was created using Merlin Project Management Software. Merlin 2 is the best project management programming software that I have used for the Mac and if you want to find out more or try a demo then click here.

Merlin is very similar to Microsoft Project, the main software I have used on PC. This is something of the industry standard for project management software, although perhaps not the best.

If you want the right answers you have to start with the right questions

About The Right Questions

The Right Questions is for people who want greater clarity, purpose and success. There is a wealth of resources to boost your effectiveness in achieving goals, your leadership of yourself and others, and your decision-making.

Wherever you are on your journey, I hope that you find information on this site to help you on the next leg of your quest. Even if that is just the inspiration to take one small step in the right direction, then that is a success. If you can take pleasure in learning and travelling as you go, then so much the better.

Need help navigating your journey to success?

I love to serve people, helping them unlock their potential, empowering them as leaders, and assisting them in achieving their goals. Please get in touch and let me know how I can support you!

How To Set Goals and Delegate the SMART Way

When we set ourselves a goal, we want to stick to it. Equally, as a leader or manager, you have to effectively delegate tasks in order for your team to perform well and to achieve your aim.

But this is simpler in theory than in practice. Often a leader’s’ experience is that – even when you think you have delegated something effectively – you still encounter problems. People may keep coming back and bugging you with questions, or alternatively the task is not done on time, or the job is not completed to the right standard.

To help avoid these issues we can use the acronym ‘SMART’ when delegating work. SMART stands for:

  • Specific,
  • Measurable,
  • Attainable,
  • Relevant and
  • Time-bound.

This method is accredited to George T. Doran (who first described a version of the acronym in the November 1981 edition of Management Review) and since then the method has evolved to encompass various adaptations of the acronym including having an E (for evaluate) and an extra R (for re-evaluate) to create ‘SMARTER’ goals.

Let’s look at each one in more detail.

What a SMART or SMARTER task actually means

S – Specific

When you give someone a goal it needs to be specific. It needs to be clearly defined and unambiguous. Whether it is a large mission or a smaller task you need to express what success looks like.

Specific is the most useful word here but you could also substitute ‘significant’ or ‘stretching’ in here if you want to make a task more aspirational (such as a ‘BHAG’ – Big Hairy Audacious Goal – promoted by Jim Collins in Good to Great) or use it as a reminder to keep things ‘simple’ or ‘sustainable’.

M – Measurable

Next, the task needs to be measureable. In other words, it needs to be possible to track the progress of completion of the goal. If the task is a big one you might need to break it down into separate activities and set milestones to help monitor progress.

Having specified the goal and broken it down to measure it you have the fundamentals of a plan.

A – Attainable

It is good for goals to stretch us but the ‘A’ here makes us ensure that the task is attainable. We can be bold but the task needs to be achievable. A task can stretch a person or a team (this is healthy) but if you are asking the impossible of someone, it will quickly become de-motivational. As a leader, you set goals to help people grow, not to set them up for failure.

Therefore by asking this question we also consider whether the person in question is properly equipped and supported to achieve the task. If it is our goal then we need to reflect upon our readiness. As a manager, we should be checking that whoever we delegate to has the right training and resources to complete their work.

R – Relevant

The task needs to be relevant to the vision of the team or organisation. Ask yourself, does this piece of work take you a step closer to achieving your overall mission? It is in line with your values? If not you may need to redefine the task.

The work also needs to be relevant to the person you are delegating to. Are they the best person for the job? Is it part of their role and job description? Do they have the relevant skills and experience? Will they be developed by this task?

T – Time Dependent

Having to create a timeline makes you properly assess how long a piece of work should take. Considering time also makes you evaluate your priorities and any dependencies that one task may have upon another.

Deadlines also help to keep people accountable for finishing and stop a piece of work dragging on endlessly. The time element, as with everything else, should be set in agreement with the person you are delegating to so that you all ‘contract in’ to the parameters for the work.

E – Evaluate

Adding in the ‘E’ of ‘Evaluate’ is useful as it brings in the discipline of reviewing how well work has been done. It gives the opportunity for feedback; praise, constructive criticism and learning on behalf of the manager and worker.

For a larger goal you might want to consider these evaluation steps and plan them in along with your overall deadline. Make evaluation time dependent too.

R – Re-evaluate

Decision making and learning happen in a cycle. We recognise this by adding the re-evaluation step here. Re-evaluation is a continuation of the learning from the ‘Evaluate’ phase. Once you have identified lessons at the evaluation phase these should be incorporated in the next stage of the activity. This gives the opportunity to learn and improve as the task progresses.

For example, the first time around the deadline might not have been achieved or the person may have needed more support to achieve the goal. Once the task has been re-set and re-started then the results can be re-evaluated to identify improvement.

How to set SMART goals video – YouTube

Set SMART goals and SMARTER tasks

Setting SMART goals helps us ensure that goals are actually achieved. It helps take the goal from an idea to a plan that we have committed to.

Equally the SMARTER approach provides a useful checklist and process by which both a manager and employee can agree upon the parameters for a task and be accountable for its outcome. Setting SMARTER tasks helps to build in the reviewing and learning from goals that if often forgotten or neglected.

So what is your next goal or task? Apply the SMART or model and make sure it happens!

If you want the right answers you have to start with the right questions

About The Right Questions

The Right Questions is for people who want greater clarity, purpose and success. There is a wealth of resources to boost your effectiveness in achieving goals, your leadership of yourself and others, and your decision-making.

Wherever you are on your journey, I hope that you find information on this site to help you on the next leg of your quest. Even if that is just the inspiration to take one small step in the right direction, then that is a success. If you can take pleasure in learning and travelling as you go, then so much the better.

Need help navigating your journey to success?

I love to serve people, helping them unlock their potential, empowering them as leaders, and assisting them in achieving their goals. Please get in touch and let me know how I can support you!